News: Research

Read the latest news from the College of Natural Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin

UT News

Diet Affects Men's and Women's Gut Microbes Differently

The microbes living in the guts of males and females react differently to diet, even when the diets are identical, according to a study by...

Illustration by Marianna Grenadier and Jenna Luecke.

UT News

Mutation Stops Worms From Getting Drunk

Neuroscientists at The University of Texas at Austin have generated mutant worms that do not get intoxicated by alcohol, a result that could lead to...

A visual comparison of a sober and an intoxicated worm. Image courtesy of Jon Pierce-Shimomura.

UT News

Improved Method for Isotope Enrichment Could Secure a Vital Global Commodity

Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have devised a new method for enriching a group of the world’s most expensive chemical commodities, stable...

An artist's rendering of the MAGIS Device (magnetically activated and guided isotope separation) by Marianna Grenadier.

UT News

Variety in Diet Can Hamper Microbial Diversity in the Gut

Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin and five other institutions have discovered that the more diverse the diet of a fish, the less...

Two stickleback fish, the type used in the study, are held in the hand of a researcher collecting them from the wild.

Research

Trapping a Bacterium in a Laser Beam Aids Study of Biofilms

Biofilms are responsible for most chronic infections and are notoriously resilient and hard to treat.

Two-channel fluorescence image of a stamped pattern of P. aeruginosa in an isotropic background of S. aureus at t = 6 h, after the initial pattern has developed into a localized cluster.

Research

Neurons in the Brain Tune into Different Frequencies for Different Spatial Memory Tasks

The findings may provide insight into the cognitive and memory disruptions seen in diseases such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer's.

A slice of rat brain stained purple to indicate the hippocampus

Research

Possible Explanation for Human Diseases Caused by Defective Ribosomes

A new study, which uses a genetic approach to examine this paradox, suggests ribosomopathies are caused by a sequence of mistakes at the molecular level.

An illustration of a molecular structure with surface structures and smaller molecular structures of varying sizes floating nearby

Research

Crazy Ants Dominate Fire Ants by Neutralizing Their Venom

It’s the first known example of an insect with the ability to detoxify another insect’s venom.

One large ant with its hindquarters raised in the direction of smaller ants

UT News

Bats Use Water Ripples to Hunt Frogs

As the male túngara frog serenades female frogs from a pond, he creates watery ripples that make him easier to target by rivals and predators...

Ripples continue for several seconds after a male túngara frog has stopped calling. Credit: Ryan Taylor/Salisbury University.

UT News

Symbiotic Fungi Inhabiting Plant Roots Have Major Impact on Atmospheric Carbon

Microscopic fungi that live in plants’ roots play a major role in the storage and release of carbon from the soil into the atmosphere, according...

An Amanita mushroom from a field site in Harvard Forest. This particular mushroom is the fruiting body of an ectomycorrhizal fungus associated with the roots of a Hemlock tree. Photo by Colin Averill.